I just planted 3 varieties of blackberries in my garden. Apache, Arapahoe
and Rosenburgh. The only one that is producing any berries is Rosenbergh,
but they seem too sour. They get full sun, are in soil lightened with peat
and a little sand, and get adequate water. The plants are beautiful, as are
the berries. Is there some soil amendment I can add to sweeten the berries?

You may be picking them too soon.
When I was a girl, my grandmother taught me that to find the sweet ones,
they had to nearly fall off in your hand when you gave them a little tug.

Try waiting a little longer, and see how it goes.



"BFan" wrote in message
news:ansfg.35287$4H.32995@dukeread03...
:I just planted 3 varieties of blackberries in my garden. Apache, Arapahoe
: and Rosenburgh. The only one that is producing any berries is Rosenbergh,
: but they seem too sour. They get full sun, are in soil lightened with
peat
: and a little sand, and get adequate water. The plants are beautiful, as
are
: the berries. Is there some soil amendment I can add to sweeten the
berries?
:
:

On Thu, 1 Jun 2006 08:41:34 -0500, in rec.gardens.edible "Kate"
(please ask), in glistered weave writ large for all
to see:

You may be picking them too soon.
When I was a girl, my grandmother taught me that to find the sweet ones,
they had to nearly fall off in your hand when you gave them a little tug.

Try waiting a little longer, and see how it goes.


Lol! You are so right. You put your hand around a bunch and those that
come off into your hand with a mere caress are sweet and those you have to
tug are tart. The feeling as to which will be which comes with practice.
:-)

FACE






"BFan" wrote in message
news:ansfg.35287$4H.32995@dukeread03...
:I just planted 3 varieties of blackberries in my garden. Apache, Arapahoe
: and Rosenburgh. The only one that is producing any berries is Rosenbergh,
: but they seem too sour. They get full sun, are in soil lightened with
peat
: and a little sand, and get adequate water. The plants are beautiful, as
are
: the berries. Is there some soil amendment I can add to sweeten the
berries?
:
:

You might check into how acidic the soil needs to be for blackberries and
then compare that with your soil's pH.

I brought some blackberries from Arkansas that really had a good taste and
were sweet(acidic soil), to my present home and planted them (Neutral soil).
They got as big as they did in AR, but had no flavor or taste, and were very
bitter. They made good jam and preserves, but you couldn't eat them right
off the vine.

Dwayne


"BFan" wrote in message
news:ansfg.35287$4H.32995@dukeread03...
I just planted 3 varieties of blackberries in my garden. Apache, Arapahoe
and Rosenburgh. The only one that is producing any berries is Rosenbergh,
but they seem too sour. They get full sun, are in soil lightened with peat
and a little sand, and get adequate water. The plants are beautiful, as
are the berries. Is there some soil amendment I can add to sweeten the
berries?